Honestly, nobody cares about the kicker until they miss. It’s the loneliest job in sports. One minute you're just a guy standing on the sideline with a massive jacket on, and the next, the entire season is resting on your right foot. If you look at the nfl kicker stats 2024, you'll see a year where the "old guard" started to crumble and a new wave of soccer-style phenoms basically broke the game.
We used to think a 50-yarder was a prayer. Now? For guys like Brandon Aubrey or Chris Boswell, it’s basically a layup. But if you just look at "points scored" to judge who had a good year, you're missing the real story.
The Year the GOAT Became Human
For over a decade, Justin Tucker was the gold standard. He was the "set it and forget it" king of Baltimore. But the 2024 season was... weird for him. He finished the regular season with a field goal percentage of just 73.3%. That’s not a typo. For a guy who is arguably the greatest to ever do it, seeing him miss eight field goals in a single season felt like a glitch in the Matrix.
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh’s Chris Boswell was out there turning the 2024 season into his personal highlight reel. He knocked through 41 field goals on 44 attempts. That’s 93.2% accuracy while being the entire offense for the Steelers for long stretches. If you’re scouting nfl kicker stats 2024 for pure reliability, "Boz" was the guy. He didn't just kick; he carried that team to the playoffs.
Why We Need to Talk About Brandon Aubrey
Brandon Aubrey is a former professional soccer player. That explains a lot. The Dallas Cowboys found him in the USFL, and he’s been making the league look silly ever since. In 2024, Aubrey attempted 47 field goals. Forty-seven! That is an insane workload. He made 40 of them, including a 65-yard bomb that looked like it would have been good from 70.
His 85.1% accuracy might look lower than Boswell's, but look at the context. Aubrey was routinely asked to kick from the parking lot. He led the league with 14 makes from 50+ yards. Think about that for a second. In the 90s, most kickers didn't make 14 kicks from 50+ in their entire careers.
The Top 5 Point Scorers (The Real Workhorses)
- Chris Boswell (PIT): 158 points. He was perfect on extra points (35/35) and a machine from 40-49 yards.
- Cameron Dicker (LAC): 150 points. "Dicker the Kicker" is no longer a meme; he’s a surgeon. He hit 92.9% of his tries.
- Brandon Aubrey (DAL): 150 points. The volume king. If Dallas got past the 40-yard line, they were in scoring range.
- Chase McLaughlin (TB): 144 points. Quietly one of the most consistent boots in the league, hitting 93.8% of his kicks.
- Jake Bates (DET): 142 points. The "UFL to NFL" pipeline is real. Bates was a weapon for a high-scoring Lions team.
The Long-Distance Revolution
It’s getting kinda ridiculous how good these guys are from deep. We saw a massive shift in how coaches manage the "dead zone" (that awkward spot between the opponent's 35 and 45-yard lines). In the past, you’d punt and try to pin them deep. In 2024, you just sent the kicker out.
Ka’imi Fairbairn in Houston is a great example. He finished with 36 makes and hit 13 of those from beyond 50 yards. He and Aubrey have basically redefined what "scoring range" means. When your kicker is hitting 80% from 55 yards, the math of the game changes. You don't have to risk a 4th-and-5 conversion when you have a guy who can just swing his leg and put three points on the board.
The Extra Point Isn't a "Gimme" Anymore
Ever since the NFL moved the extra point back to the 15-yard line, it's been a subtle game-changer. Most fans use that time to grab a beer or check their phone. Big mistake.
In 2024, the league average for PATs hovered around 95%, but the misses were catastrophic. Harrison Butker, usually the model of consistency for Kansas City, had some uncharacteristic struggles with his alignment. According to film junkies and analysts like those at Michigan Football Analytics, a tiny shift in how a kicker faces the ball can ruin their accuracy. Butker’s hips were reportedly opening up too early, leading to some ugly misses that kept games closer than they should have been.
On the flip side, guys like Wil Lutz (46/46) and Nick Folk (25/25) were perfect. It’s boring, sure. But in a league where games are decided by three points or less about 50% of the time, those "boring" stats are the difference between a division title and watching the playoffs from your couch.
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Looking for Value in the nfl kicker stats 2024
If you're a fantasy football player or just a degenerate stat-head, you've got to look at "Field Goal Percentage Over Expected" (FGPOE). This stat accounts for distance, weather, and stadium type (domes vs. outdoor).
Dustin Hopkins in Cleveland and Jake Elliott in Philly actually saw some of the biggest regressions in 2024. Elliott, specifically, finished with a 77.8% field goal rate. For a guy with his leg talent, that was a major disappointment. It shows that even the best can have a "down" year where the timing just feels a bit off.
What This Means for 2025
The 2024 season proved that the kicker is no longer just a specialist—they are a primary scoring option. Teams are now scouting kickers with the same intensity they use for wide receivers.
If you're looking to understand where the league is headed, watch the rookies. Joshua Karty with the Rams and Will Reichard with the Vikings showed that the collegiate pipeline is producing "pro-ready" legs that don't blink in high-pressure situations. Reichard was hitting 80% before an injury slowed him down, and Karty stayed steady with 85.3% accuracy.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Analysts
- Ignore the "Long" stat: A kicker hitting one 60-yarder is cool, but look at the 40-49 yard range. That's where games are won. If a guy is below 80% there, he's a liability.
- Watch the Surface: Kickers in domes (like Aubrey or Bates) will always have inflated stats compared to guys kicking in the Heinz Field (Acrisure Stadium) winds like Boswell.
- Volume over Accuracy: In fantasy, you want the guy on a team with a "stalled" offense. A team that moves the ball but can't score touchdowns (like the 2024 Steelers) is a goldmine for kicker points.
- Track the PATs: If a kicker starts missing extra points, it’s usually a mechanical or mental issue that will eventually bleed into their field goal attempts.
The nfl kicker stats 2024 tell a story of a league in transition. The era of the "reliable vet" who just chips it in is over. We are in the era of the power leg. If you can't hit from 55 in the rain, you're probably looking for a job in the spring.